


Eisei Gakuen's Hissatsu

by SkyChild2010



Series: Inazuma Eleven - Football Frontier Autumn Tournament [1]
Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin, Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin
Genre: Eisei Gakuen, Gen, Kappa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25208320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyChild2010/pseuds/SkyChild2010
Summary: In Inazuma Eleven Reloaded / Ares no Tenbin/ Orion no Kokuin, the Aliea arc never happened; maybe because Hiroto is still alive and Kira Seijoru has no reason for revenge. As a result, the plays of all the players have changed drastically from the original series. Endou learns God of Wind & Lightning after Majin the Hand; instead of Fist of Justice. Similar changes are noted for all original players. Kazemaru learns Spinning Fence instead of Dance of the Wind God, Gouenji’s Bakenetsu Storm is a combination move and not an individual shoot, Aphrodi learns God Knows Impact instead of God Knows Kai. However in the middle of all this, the moves of Eisei Gakuen’s original timeline players remain the same - Ryussei Blade, Astro Break, Wormhole, Drill Smasher. Despite the fact that the Aliea arc doesn’t happen, how do these players end up having the same space themed moves?Note : The story happens after the end of Orion no Kokuin
Series: Inazuma Eleven - Football Frontier Autumn Tournament [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826233
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. A Penny For Your Thought

**Author's Note:**

> All characters in the story belong to the Inazuma Eleven franchise and Level-5
> 
> ***
> 
> The story is written in Tatsuya's POV.
> 
> ***
> 
> Chapter List :  
> Ch 1 : A Penny For Your Thought  
> Ch 2 : The Camp  
> Ch 3 : Campfire & Ghost Stories  
> Ch 4 : A Kappa Encounter?  
> Ch 5 : When At Camp, Expect the Unexpected  
> Ch 6 : The Swap  
> Ch 7 : Under A Different Captain  
> Ch 8 : Hopes & Goodbyes
> 
> Don't think of the chapter list as spoilers but as things to look forward to as the story progresses.

Tatsuya was on the terrace of Sun Garden looking at the stars. He was overwhelmed by what had happened in the past weeks. The Football Frontier Autumn Tournament had started and Eisei Gakuen had made it to the nationals. They had won all their matches to make it to the Championship Finals too. The Championship was almost at their fingertips and yet it seemed so far away. After all, how could they expect to win against the original Raimon Eleven who had re-grouped. It would be a tough challenge. He sighed.

He thought about the fight that lay ahead. Their tactics would be no match against Kidou, The Absolute Commander of the Pitch. In their current state, there was no way they could stop Gouenji’s Last Resort. And maybe… just maybe, Cosmic Blaster might get through Endou. But he doubted this too. It seemed a bit hopeless. But he wasn’t ready to give up. No. They would practice until their bones crumbled. After all, they almost had a week before the championship game.

Tatsuya was lost in these thoughts when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and smiled to see Midorikawa and Hiroto making their way to him. Ever since their Quarter Final match against Seishou in which Midorikawa scored the final goal that gave Eisei its victory, Hiroto and Midorikawa had gotten along much better and Hiroto had made a new friend. If you could call them friends. It was more like Hiroto didn’t look at his green haired teammate anymore as if he was going to curse him and turn him into a green frog instead. However this was an improvement coming from the God Striker.

After the match, Haizaki looked at Midorikawa like he was about to murder the boy and then at Hiroto, “Oy curly hair, next time, we’ll win”. Hiroto replied smugly, “Haven’t you learned your lesson not to go up against a God”. Haizaki glared evilly; reiterating Tatsuya’s belief that Haizaki was aptly named The Devil of the Field.

Haizaki and Hiroto may have gotten closer while on Inazuma Japan but their competitive spirit and bickering was still ongoing. After the match, Haizaki had openly shown support of Raimon and had even held some practice matches with them to help them bring down Eisei. A video taken during practice of Haizaki yelling like a thug at a scared Kurimatsu (which left Kidou face palming in the background) had gone viral among the members of Inazuma Japan. This of course had caused a chain reaction.

Inazuma Japan members were now picking sides. All of Inakuni Raimon remained neutral with the exception of Kozoumaru, who to nobody’s surprise was on Gouenji’s side. Fudou picked Eisei’s side hoping to beat Kidou. The Fubuki brothers, Mizukamiya and Sakanoue sided with their Ex-Reinforcement Committee Members. Aphrodi sided with Eisei as they lost the Semi Final match to Eisei. Ichihoshi sided with Hiroto and the rest of the Outei members followed as well.

Bets were exchanged between the two sides even with some outrageous conditions; like the losing side would have to shave their head (Aphrodi in particular was a bit anxious about this), serve coffee at the maid café for a weekend (which nobody wanted to) and eat a full plate of their ex-coach Zhao Jinyun’s orange homemade fried rice that nobody had liked (Nishikage in particular was troubled by this. He knew who would end up eating Nosaka’s plate).

This of course spurred everyone into action. All the five supporters of Eisei had visited for the past two days to help them train. Ichihoshi and Nosaka had spent hours with Tatsuya trying to come up with a strategy that would hold up against Raimon. Nishikage had dedicated himself to leveling up Saginuma. The two self proclaimed Gods had gotten along well too until Aphrodi mentioned another roller coaster ride as part of training. All Fudou had done was tease and pick fights with Nagumo. Eerily enough, it had the desired effect of making Nagumo work harder.

Midorikawa was the first to break the silence among the three. The worry was clear in his voice. “Do we even have a chance?” Tatsuya did not know how to respond. Hiroto’s arrogance however made him say that they will win. But this didn’t convince Midorikawa. They all just sat there staring at each other until Saginuma, Suzuno and Nagumo arrived. The new comers easily caught onto the atmosphere of the terrace.

Tatsuya finally voiced his thoughts. “I do not know if we have a chance at winning the championship. But we should try our best. Practice hard and give it our all” “Tch, as if we already aren’t”, said Hiroto. “We need to stop worrying about the outcome. We are all too focused on winning. We need to take some time away from those thoughts”, Tatsuya said looking at each one’s tired faces. It was Suzuno who replied, “We could go to the training camp below Mt. Fuji where the five of us went for summer training”. The other’s face lit up except for Hiroto who didn’t know what they were talking about. Tatsuya remembered that time well. It was one of the best memories in his life. It was at this camp that he had used Ryussei Blade for the first time. In fact this was where Saginuma mastered both Wormhole and Drill Smasher, Midorikawa learned Astro Break, Nagumo learned Atomic Flare and Suzuno learned Northern Impact.

The minute he thought about the camp, he felt a strong urge to return there. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like a strange power was pulling him towards the camp. He said with a shrug, “It might be a good idea. The mountain air and change of scenery might help”. Hiroto, who hadn’t been to the camp looked unconvinced but didn’t argue. “It is decided then… All that is left now is Hitomiko’s permission”, said Nagumo happily. 


	2. The Camp

The camp was just as Tatsuya remembered. Nestled at the bottom of Mt Fuji, facing a pristine beautiful lake. They were welcomed by their local camp overseer Kenzaki Ryuuichi; who would also double as their helper and field nurse in case of any accidents. Kenzaki didn’t seem like the warm and welcoming type with his bluish green hair and pale skin that reminded Tatsuya of Vampire stories he had heard. During the welcome speech, he gave Tatsuya a cold smile which sent a shiver down his spine. The reaction seemed unwarranted to Tatsuya; especially at someone whom he had just met. 

After the welcome speech, they all dispersed to check out the camp grounds or to settle in the dormitories. Tatsuya stood at the entrance to the camp, taking in the breathtaking beauty of the lake in front of him. Again, he felt that strange sensation… like the lake was calling to him… almost demanding. He couldn’t explain it. The feeling seemed odd. It wasn’t threatening or scary, but he couldn’t ignore it either. So he took off his shoes and nimbly made his way to the edge of the lake. He tipped his toes in the water, checking its temperature. The water was cold. Not too cold that it gave you shivers but cold enough to make you take a dip on a nice sunny day. He slid his feet into the water which lapped playfully at his ankles. All of a sudden he felt a bit different; as if his tiredness had abated. The wind picked up all around him, rustling his red hair...

It was a while before he went inside. His friends were all settled in. They had already picked their beds in the dorm. To his glee, Tatsuya found himself in the lower bunk near the window that overlooked the lake. He was a bit surprised though. That was probably one of the more coveted spots in the room. Why then had no one claimed it first? He wondered.

As if to answer his thoughts, Hiroto said matter-of-factly, “You just missed the battle” Saginuma chimed in, “Midorikawa tried to single handedly fight off Nagumo and Suzuno to save the spot for you. And then Hiroto joined in as well.” “We showed them for real, didn’t we”, smirked Hiroto, with his arm resting on the shoulders of a sheepish looking Midorikawa. Nagumo and Suzuno glared at the two of them from the other end of the room. Tatsuya soon found out that what had started as a verbal battle had quickly turned into a 2 on 2 mini soccer game with jerseys rolled up to create a soccer ball and the bed posts acting as the goal post. The result of the match was obvious. Otherwise it would be Nagumo or Suzuno in his bed right now. He smiled gratefully at his best friend Midorikawa, who was now happily tucked under the blanket on the bunk bed above him.

After resting for a while, Tatsuya decided to take the team on a short trip around camp. After all, the rest of them hadn’t been there before. They all gathered in the hall. Tatsuya cleared his throat and began, “The camp has many training area’s set up. But the best training arena is nature itself. You will always find an answer to your problems there”. With this he led them to the backside of the camp building to show them the soccer pitch. It wasn’t fancy. Just a regular soccer pitch with a dirt ground. They could see that the lines on the field had been recently repainted (maybe at Hitomiko’s request? Tatsuya wondered). He could see Hiroto scorning. Hiroto hadn’t been the most enthusiastic about this trip (Tatsuya had a feeling it had something to do with flying here). But he thought Hiroto might cheer up after a while.

Tatsuya then took them to the tire swing area. “Tire Swings!!!”, yelled Segata happily running towards them. Tatsuya smiled, “The tire swings are also part of practice”, “Ehhh”, said Honba. Segata stopped in his tracks as well. Tatsuya went onto explain. “Endou uses tire swings for keeper practice, Gouenji uses them for kick practice. Kazemaru uses it for dodge practice. There are others on Raimon who use it for balance practice as well. The practical applications of the tire swing are limitless. We should use it for practice too.” He said, looking at the tire swing with an expression possibly similar to what cavemen had on their face when they discovered fire.

He went onto show them the climbing wall, the balance beams, the wooden pillars and many more of the surroundings of the camp. The waterfall was an instant hit with the team after Nagumo decided to test how high the ball would go up the waterfall. After the trip around the camp, they had dinner and everyone went for a dip in the lake. The whole team looked lively with the exception of Hiroto who was gloomily sitting at the bank of the lake.

“Hello Hiroto. It’s a beautiful night isn’t it”, Tatsuya said wondering how Hiroto could look so sad on such a night. ”Why don’t you join us in the lake?” No response from Hiroto. But Tatsuya wasn’t going to let it go that easily. He knew how to get Hiroto to react. “I bet I am a better swimmer than you. Much faster I reckon…” Tatsuya smiled tauntingly. Hiroto glared at him but the look dissipated quickly.”Hiroto, what is wrong?” Tatsuya asked. After all, it was very unlike Hiroto to turn down a challenge. Hiroto responded with an inaudible grumble that Tatsuya couldn’t catch. “What was that?” he asked. “I don’t belong here”, Hiroto stated. Tatsuya was shocked and taken back. He could find no reason why Hiroto felt so. The team had done nothing to make Hiroto feel out of place. In fact the team’s relationship with Hiroto had only gotten better since their match against Inakuni Raimon the last summer. So where was this coming from?

Hiroto realizing what Tatsuya was thinking shook his head. “It’s not them”, he said, “I feel like I don’t belong here” he said only this time pointing to his surroundings. He sighed, “Ever since we got here, I have had this feeling like I am an intruder here. Like, I shouldn’t be here. Like maybe…”, he was reluctant to say it out loud, the feeling that was bugging him since his arrival. But the way Tatsuya was looking at him with those round green eyes made him continue, “Like maybe I should have died or something…”, he said closing his eyes not wanting to see Tatsuya’s reaction. Tatsuya got up angrily, “You are wrong”, Tatsuya said indignantly, “You belong here just as much as any of us”. Hiroto sighed. He didn’t want to argue with Tatsuya. So he nodded his head, gave a small smile and said, “Just stupid thoughts. Maybe I’ll feel different in the morning. Maybe it’s the after effects of… flying?” he looked questioningly at Tatsuya. Tatsuya nodded as Hiroto went inside.

Tatsuya pressed his eyelids together, shutting them tightly. He had been angry at Hiroto for thinking those thoughts. He had reacted instinctively to Hiroto. But the minute Hiroto had said it out loud, something had clicked in his mind. As if some long lost memory was trying to surface. As if some part of him believed Hiroto was right. That Hiroto was supposed to be dead. He opened his eyes angrily and stormed back inside.


	3. Campfire & Ghost Stories

They all got up early morning, ready for practice. Hitomiko announced, “You should all train with a practice buddy on your individual skills for today and tomorrow. We can all regroup the day after to check on each other’s progress”. Everyone nodded excitedly. Hiroto seemed to be in much better spirits than yesterday, Tatsuya noted. His nightmares flashed back. He shook his head as he tried to push off the image of a gravestone with Hiroto’s name on it.

“The practice buddies are as follows…”, Hitomiko spoke out, distracting Tatsuya from his nightmares. To nobody's surprise, Tatsuya was training with Hiroto. After all, he was the only one who could keep up with Hiroto. The team broke off to find practice spots that would favor either their position on the team or some new move they wanted to try out. Tatsuya and Hiroto decided to use the soccer pitch to train. The day dragged along uneventfully. Training was long and tiring. Thanks to Hiroto’s high speed passes, Tatsuya was able to better see fast moving balls even in dynamic vision. Training with Hiroto had definitely helped him improve his speed and reaction time.

As the sun went down, the members of Eisei started getting back to the main building from their respective practice sessions. The first to arrive was Clara and Reina. They had found a smaller waterfall at the edge of the forest and decided to practice there as Clara insisted on it. A wickedly gleaming Nagumo and Suzuno were the next to return. They grinned ear to ear, looking extremely pleased with their practice session. Even though neither of them revealed the reason for their high spirits, Tatsuya guessed that it involved a new Hissatsu.

Honba and Netsuha were next to arrive. Both of them looked like hell. Their clothes were still smoking as if they had been trying to escape a wildfire. Tatsuya stared at them wide eyed; he started “What…” but was cut short by Honba, “Don’t want to talk about it.” Honba was glaring at Netsuha who had his arms crossed and face turned away from Honba. The rest of the team seemed to be in better shape. Midorikawa and Saginuma looked tired from practice but were still laughing about how Saginuma couldn’t stop his shot as he was too busy lecturing Midorikawa on warrior spirit.

Kenzaki appeared right at that moment. “Hello all, I have arranged for a campfire and barbecue for all of you tonight. We will start around dinner time. Please wash and be ready by then”. There was an excited outburst from Saginuma who loved barbecue (all his tiredness had apparently vanished). He was the first to rush to the showers as the rest of the team filed in tiredly.

The food was delicious and eating outdoors was fun. All of them were enjoying it thoroughly. The campfire was alight too; the flames dancing in the night. After food, everyone gathered around the fire talking about random things. One thing lead to another and Nagumo ended up recounting a ghost story he had heard from his last visit to the camp. According to someone Nagumo knew, a young male camper had gotten locked in the attic by mistake and died of hunger there. The ghost of the young boy was apparently still wandering around camp; sometimes even coming back to the young boy’s bed for some rest. Midorikawa closed his eyes, shaking slightly, as if scared of seeing a boy wandering the grounds. Tatsuya saw an evil grin pass between Nagumo and Suzuno as Suzuno asked, “Oy Nagumo, do you know which bed the boy used to sleep in?” Nagumo thought for a while before replying innocently, “The story says he used to sleep in the top bunk of the room that overlooked the lake”. Midorikawa screamed at this and sat closer to Tatsuya looking as pale as the moon. Both Nagumo and Suzuno burst out laughing. “That’s payback for stealing our bed” they both retorted rolling on the ground laughing. Tatsuya saw Midorikawa make a face at them. And then he heard a sinister laugh. The minute Kenzaki started laughing, others stopped laughing. His laugh sounded ominous. He said, “Is that the best story you got? I’ll tell you a story then”. He gleamed and started.

“Once upon a time, there was a father who loved his son very much. But his son died at the hands of someone his father couldn’t touch. The father grew sad and dejected and fell into depression until one day his only daughter suggested that he visit an orphanage. During his orphanage visit, he met a young boy who was a spitting image of his own son. So he adopted the boy and named him the same as the son he had lost. Overtime, the father came to love all the children at the orphanage as his own. Until, a meteorite fell from outer space. The rock contained immense power that if harnessed correctly could enhance any human. The father saw this as an opportunity for revenge and made the children of the orphanage train hard at soccer with the help of the rock. The children pretended to be Aliens and went around challenging schools in Japan. They would destroy the schools if the team lost”. At this, Kenzaki stopped for dramatic effect. Midorikawa looked close to weeping and none of the other members looked very comfortable at the story either. Some of them looked a bit ashen in fact. As for Tatsuya, he couldn’t help but feel some connection to the story. He couldn’t put his finger on it. But he felt like he knew the story… Like Déjà vu or something…

Kenzaki continued, “The children of the orphanage fought many battles and brought destruction to many schools. Until they were stopped by a team that bore the symbol of lightning. The lightning team had gathered many strong players from all over the country to fight the aliens. In the end the aliens lost.” He stopped again, seemingly lost in thoughts. “Legend has it that a similar meteorite landed here. Where the meteorite fell, a crater was formed. Overtime, the crater filled with water”, he said with his eyes fixed on the lake. “Those who are connected to the meteorite find its call undeniable. Eventually, they all come to this camp…” he gleamed evilly, “especially the children of the orphanage...” There was an eerie silence as all of them looked at each other.

“Ok… that is enough stories for one night” Hitomiko interrupted. She dispersed the team and started chiding Kenzaki for his story. They all started walking back to their dorms.

Saginuma : That was one hell of a story

Reina : Yeah… That Kenzaki knows how to tell a story all right

Hiroto : Tch… it doesn’t make a lot of sense… who would ever believe that… and why did he try to make it sound like it was connected to us… “the children of the orphanage”… tch

Tatsuya : Didn’t the story seem sort of familiar to any of you?

All of them shook their head as if to say no.

Reina : What do you mean familiar?

Tatsuya : Like Déjà vu… like I knew what was going to happen next… like I have heard it before

Suzuno : I don’t think the story is real. I mean, we would have heard about a super powerful team that dresses like aliens and goes around challenging teams and destroying schools.

Nagumo : Yeah… We would definitely have heard about it in school or something. 

Tatsuya thought for a while and agreed to their logic. But he still had a nagging feeling in his mind as he climbed under the sheets and turned in for the night…

As if on queue, his nightmares started...


	4. A Kappa Encounter?

A tired Tatsuya stumbled to breakfast the next day. Reina who noticed the captain’s discomfort raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. “Nightmares”, Tatsuya replied with a wave of his hand. They all had a quick breakfast and broke off for practice. Hiroto and Tatsuya found a clearing towards the lake with large stones randomly about. They decided to use the spot for dribbling practice.

It was a few hours later when they both sat on the stones drinking water from their bottles that Tatsuya said, “I had a nightmare yesterday about the story that Kenzaki recited… I dreamt I was one of the children pretending to be an alien that destroyed schools that lost matches. All the children of Sun Garden were in my dream too.” At this he paused. The memory of an evil Midorikawa destroying schools with a black soccer ball didn’t give him any comfort.

Hiroto grinned and said, “Was I in it too? Did people kneel before the God Striker?” Tatsuya’s face turned pale as he answered meekly, ”You were dead… remember how the original son died in the story?” “Oh” was all Hiroto managed to say. Tatsuya had a worried expression on his face. He had a feeling it wasn’t just a dream. It felt so real. Hiroto fist bumped his shoulder cutting his thoughts short and said mockingly, “Its just a story you idiot…”

Tatsuya closed his eyes as if in concentration… he had remembered something from his dream… he had a move… a very powerful move… even in his dream, he could feel its power… only if he could do it for real… maybe he could give it a try, he thought

He got up and turned to Hiroto, “I want to try a new shoot… will you help? Your shoot like passes will make it easier to try.” Hiroto kept his bottle aside with a smirk as he stepped back onto the training area. Tatsuya followed him, “Just kick the ball up really high and fast”. Hiroto nodded. They resumed practice.

The move was more difficult than Tatsuya had imagined. It required speed, power and above all else timing. But he made progress. He felt he had definitely gotten the hang of it. Hiroto stopped all of a sudden and was staring into the forest. Tatsuya stopped too. “What happened? Why are you stopping?” “I thought I saw someone”, Hiroto replied, “Oy, stop spying and come on out.”

Two boys stepped out. They looked like brothers. They both had similar features - a green cap on their head, weird looking lips, eyebrows that looked like cucumber and a blue backpack that resembled a turtle shell. One of the brothers had blue hair while the other had green hair. “Who are you? Are you trying to spy on us?” Hiroto asked, an aura of danger enveloping him.

In a quick movement, the newcomers stole the soccer ball Hiroto and Tatsuya were practicing with and ran away. An angry Hiroto gave out a frustrated yell and followed. Tatsuya decided to pursue the thieves too. The brothers would stop every once in a while, waiting for Tatsuya and Hiroto to catch up and then would take off again. This continued until they all reached a soccer field in the middle of the forest…

Tatsuya took in his surroundings. He found a black board which had been turned into a scoreboard with a picture of him and Hiroto roughly scrawled on one side and the two brothers on the other. The blue haired brother threw the ball at Hiroto and then stepped onto the pitch as if challenging them. Tatsuya looked at Hiroto and nodded in agreement. If the brothers wanted to take them on, they would get their wish. They both stepped onto the field, ready for a match.

The match started… The brothers were very fast and very agile. Their ball control was amazing. Even Hiroto with his incredible individual play was finding it difficult to both keep the ball and steal it from the brothers. The brothers scored the first goal to Hiroto’s annoyance. But it didn’t end there. Even though both Hiroto and Tatsuya tried hard, they couldn’t keep up with the brothers. The brothers soon scored their second goal… and then third… it went on until the 10th goal. In a desperate attempt to score, Hiroto made a high, long pass to Tatsuya. As if taken over by instinct, Tatsuya pushed himself down, hunching over and then leapt to the sky, spinning mid air before kicking the ball. The ball exploded and raced towards the goal looking as if the sky had opened up and planets, stars and space were crashing down onto the goal.

Hiroto looked amazed and extremely proud at the same time. After all, this was the first time he had helped someone create their own Hissatsu. And a damn good one at that too. He looked at Tatsuya who was radiating pure joy and passion and light. For a brief moment, he was reminded again of why he had decided to follow this Captain and his dreams.

The brothers were taken aback as well and stopped short. They stepped off the field and took out a white pad and pen and handed it to both Hiroto and Tatsuya to sign. An autograph... As Tatsuya scrawled a signature quickly, Hiroto made a fuss before signing (even though the brothers had beaten them 10 to 1).

Tatsuya was happy and surprised at the same time. He hadn’t expected it to work. However, the happiness was short lived as he remembered his dreams. If he had any doubt about his dreams, they were gone now. The move confirmed beyond any doubt that his dreams weren’t just ordinary dreams.

Tatsuya looked at the brothers. It was because of them that he had finally gotten the move down. As he kept staring at them, he felt they looked familiar. But he couldn’t remember from where. He scratched his chin wondering and said, “It was fun playing with you both… we are part of a soccer team that is here for practice. We are staying at the training camp for a few days… would you like to come visit?” the brothers looked at each other but shook their head implying no.

Realizing he didn’t know their names, Tatsuya asked, “What are your names?” “Kamezaki Kappa”, said the blue haired brother. “Kamezaki Kokappa” said the green haired brother. Hiroto burst out laughing yelling Kappa. Tatsuya’s face resembled an expression somewhere between shock, disbelief and anger. He turned to face Hiroto who was still laughing at him. “The guy who is adamant Kappas don’t exist ends up playing soccer with one” Remarked Hiroto “Asuto will be thrilled to hear of this” Hiroto continued laughing even harder, clutching his stomach. Tatsuya’s face turned as red as his hair as he spun around to get some answers from the brothers who were the cause of his grief; only to find them to have disappeared.


	5. When At Camp, Expect The Unexpected

The next day, the team regrouped back at the soccer field to show off the results of their training. Nagumo & Suzuno all but begged Hitomiko to go first. Hitomiko agreed. The boys stepped onto the field with the ball between them. They kicked the ball up high and jumped, an aura of fire and ice surrounding their feet respectively. “Fire Blizzard”, they yelled before kicking the ball into the goal. Tatsuya had to admit; that was a pretty good move. Even Hiroto looked impressed. The duo gleamed before stepping off the field. As if on queue, Tatsuya had a sudden flash of memory of Fire Blizzard being used by the duo, against Raimon when they were pretending to be aliens. He couldn’t help but wonder… Did others remember too? Did they have dreams too?

He went up to Suzuno and asked, “How did you guys learn that move?” Suzuno replied, “It was an accident actually… we were both trying to shoot the ball up the waterfall… and it just happened… like our bodies knew what to do… I guess we are more in sync than we realized.” Tatsuya just nodded. Could Suzuno be lying to him? But why would Suzuno lie? No. His friend wouldn’t lie about something like this.

Tatsuya was over the moon when everyone was done showcasing their new found talents. Apparently a lot more members had learned new Hissatsu Techniques in the past two days than what Tatsuya had expected. Both their offense and defense were now greatly improved. Clara learned a new move called Frozen Steal, Netsuha and Honba learned Ignite Steal. That explained the smoking Netsuha and Honba he had seen returning from practice two days ago. Midorikawa learned Lightning Accel and Segata learned Ganymade Proton. Things were starting to look more happening around the team.

However, more than the new techniques they had learned (quite surprisingly at the same time), what shocked Tatsuya more was the flash of memories he got each time he saw a new move. Each of the memory was of the same person using the same move but in some other context, mostly pretending to be aliens. The only exception was Midorikawa’s Lightning Accel.

Tatsuya took turns talking to each of them, trying to find out if their move was inspired by memories. But all of them answered similar to Suzuno. It had just happened... And then he remembered the first time he had managed Tenkuu Otoshi. It had just happened too… like muscle memory…

They were now practicing as a team. With all the additional new moves, it got rather interesting. For once, Hiroto was equally out of breath as the others. Practice was getting much more fast paced. Everyone was now able to move as fast as Hiroto and was becoming equally skilled in accepting and kicking shoot like passes. He noticed the improvements in their play. They weren’t the same dejected team that had come to camp. They were doing much better than their own expectations and were going to return a very confident team. Of that, Tatsuya was sure.

Practice was finally over. Tatsuya was sitting at the edge of the lake looking over it when he heard a voice behind him say, “I have been watching you for a while now”. That voice... It sounded oddly familiar to him.

The shock on his face was crystal clear when he turned around to face the speaker… facing him was… a mirror image of himself. Tatsuya rubbed his eyes thinking that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. But the other remained there smirking.

Tatsuya had heard of black magic in stories. But he had never believed in it. However, at that moment he would believe anything. This camp was weird; what with meeting people who claimed to be Kappa and now seeing a duplicate of himself. Tatsuya felt the sky was the limit to what could be possible.

“Who are you? And why do you look like me?” Tatsuya asked “Are you a ghost? Or perhaps, is this some kind of black magic?” the other just smiled in response; enjoying the confusion. There was no hostility in him. Tatsuya noted. Maybe a bit of curiosity and a lot of excitement. “May I sit?” his tone was polite. Tatsuya nodded.

“I am you”, the person replied. “In my world, I am called Hiroto…”


	6. The Swap

“I am you… In my world, I am called Hiroto…”

Those words echoed in his ears.

He didn’t want to believe it. He was _not_ going to believe it. But the more Tatsuya looked at him, the less his resolve became.

The other was gauging Tatsuya’s reaction. Gauging the shock on Tatsuya’s face and thoroughly enjoying the confusion.

None of what this person said made any sense to him. What did he mean by “my world”… was his world different from Tatsuya’s? Tatsuya wondered. He looked curiously at the new person.

As if understanding his thoughts, the person said, “I come from another world… another parallel universe or alternate reality… whatever you want to call it”. When Tatsuya seemed unresponsive, he continued, “I realize your Hiroto is still alive… I came to meet him… to meet father’s real son. I have been travelling to a few worlds to see if I could catch a glimpse of him, see what he is really like”, he said wishfully.

Tatsuya took in what the stranger said... “another world”. It confused him even more. But what worried him most was the casual matter-of-factly tone with which the other explained things. As if it was normal for other worlds to exist, as if it was normal for people to travel between worlds searching for dead people. The concept almost gave him a headache.

He tried to remain calm. He thought about it logically. How was it even possible to travel between worlds? Where was the technology for that? He had never heard of anything like that except in sci-fi movies.

He asked, “Let us say I believe you – not that I do. But let us assume I do. If that were so, how did you even get here?”

“The Aliea meteorite of course” the other said without skipping a beat. “The Aliea meteorite of different worlds acts as doorways between the worlds… of course, with the right kind of equipment that is”. The other replied as he mysteriously gazed at a black and white soccer ball which was neatly hidden under a nearby bush. The soccer ball looked different from regular soccer balls. It looked like the ball in his memories… the ball used by Aliea Academy. He gasped as the realization struck him and another flooding of memories came over him. He remembered how the weapons facility run by father had invented a device that could teleport people. He couldn’t remember anything about travelling between worlds though.

But then… that would mean that his memories were real and that this “other world” and all the things that happened there were real… all the good things… but all the horrible things too. Shock settled on his face as this realization hit him. He looked at the other in front of him. A name escaped his lips before he could think it through. ”Gran” he said. A sad smile settled on the other’s face as he replied, “Nobody has called me that in a while”

“I can’t call you Hiroto. That is just weird. It is even weirder to call you Tatsuya. I thought Gran was appropriate” Tatsuya shrugged. Gran thought for a while before replying, “Please, call me Kiyama”. Tatsuya nodded.

“I’m glad you remembered. That’s good”, said Kiyama. ”Remembered? But how?” Tatsuya asked a bit confused, “Why can I remember? Why only me? Nobody else seems to remember what happened to themselves in other worlds”

Kiyama responded, “I am here aren’t I. Normally it takes a while for the memory flow to start. But, I suppose, as both of us are in such close proximity to each other and the meteorite, the process sped up. What you are seeing, it’s my memories… Just like I have been seeing yours…”

Tatsuya thought about everything that happened in the past few days. He remembered what Kenzaki said about the lake. He asked, “In this world, did the meteorite really land in the lake?” “Yes. The spot is almost identical to where it landed in my world too” replied the other.

Tatsuya looked into the deep waters of the lake as he asked the next question, “Did you drown?” Kiyama just laughed at that question. However, seeing Tatsuya frown, he replied, “I appeared on this bank. Not in the lake. The essence of the stone is what matters. Not the stone itself. The essence of the stone is a part of the nature here just like it is back in my world where the stone itself was destroyed”

_The essence of the stone is a part of the_ _nature here._ As the words rang in his mind, Tatsuya remembered how he had felt much more energized after his dip in the lake on the first day of camp. “The essence of the stone strengthens us as well, doesn’t it?” he asked back. Kiyama replied, “Yes. The reason all of you were able to level up quickly while training here is partly because of the amount of training you put in and partly because of the power of the rock that is infused in and around this camp grounds. It gave you strength even when you had nearly reached your limits. The rock also connects you to other versions of yourself who has come into contact with the rock; imparting some of that strength through synergy. That’s why all of you could master the same moves as in my world… the same moves you know them capable of through your memories” Tatsuya nodded understandingly. That explained a lot of things.

Tatsuya wondered if some of the other combination Hissatsu moves in his dream would work too. There was a really cool one with penguins from space that he wanted to try with Yagami and Hiroto. He smiled at the thought of Hiroto throwing a tantrum about using Penguin moves. He could almost imagine Hiroto’s aggravated ranting, “I am not using Penguins… it will look like I copied Haizaki and Haizaki will never stop bragging about it… NO PENGUINS FOR ME. NO THANK YOU” But Tatsuya knew he could convince Hiroto to try Space Penguin. After all, Haizaki didn’t have a monopoly on Penguins. Seeing Tatsuya’s smile, Kiyama looked questioningly. Tatsuya shook his head, smiled more and said, “Hiroto and Space Penguin”. The other seemed to understand and started smiling too.

“I could teach them space penguin”, Kiyama said in a condescending tone as his eyes glinted at the thought. Tatsuya laughed out loud and replied, “I think they would go mad seeing two of me”. “They don’t have to know who I am” Kiyama said with an almost maniacal smile on his face. Tatsuya got chills from the smile the other was giving him. He was starting to see vestiges of Gran he had seen in his dreams and it was scary. The confidence and power the other boy exhumed was a lot stronger than his own. The other said, “Let’s swap for a day. You take my place in my world and I’ll take your place here. I want to meet Hiroto and maybe teach the rest of the team a thing or two”.

Tatsuya was a bit worried. He wasn’t sure he wanted to leave his team in this guy’s hands. But he wanted to see the other world too. It would be really interesting to meet the other Midorikawa and Saginuma and Nagumo and Suzuno and Reina and the rest. Seeing Tatsuya’s expression, Kiyama said with a softened expression, “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to them. I almost lost them once in my world. I promise to keep them safe in yours” His words were genuine. Tatsuya knew that. He could feel the sorrow, the pain, the regret and the shame in the other’s voice. He nodded. It would be fun to check out the other world after all. 

Kiyama took the black and white soccer ball from behind the bushes and gave it to Tatsuya, quickly explaining how to operate the device. It was much simpler to use than Tatsuya had imagined. Tatsuya and the other boy swapped clothes and as the sun set beyond the mountains; Tatsuya waved goodbye as he activated the device, vanishing along with the ball.


End file.
